HerdTrack’s hardware is tough – built for farm conditions. The accompanying software is valuable – for livestock monitoring, livestock management and traceability. This farm-proof hardware is solar-powered and linked to intelligent software that converts information into insight.
Moreover, we are constantly further developing and improving the software so that livestock management becomes even more effective. Every RFID ear tag that is scanned is a building block in the system, but the latest updates offer even more functionality.
What stays the same?
The core of HerdTrack remains unchanged: farmers get a live, holistic overview of their herd through the scanning of RFID ear tags. This means automatic recording of animal movement and digital recording of animal history (including medication records) are still there to build a complete traceability record. The custom alerts for changes in animal behaviour or critical water levels also remain part of the package.
Improvement: home page and overview
The Dashboard has been improved to make decision-making easier. Herd numbers are now displayed separately for a quicker overview. When you as a farmer open the system, you can immediately see if there are animals within a specific herd that have not been at the scanner for a day or longer.
Instead of searching deep into the system for information, everything is now available on the surface. Where you previously had to search specifically for pregnancy records, for example, every animal now has a complete overview page. You can now quickly get a summary of your animals, herds, staff, locations, scanners and ear tags without unnecessary clicks.
Improvement: importing animal data
Many farmers are wary of new technology because they have decades of data in old formats. There is now a new function where Excel sheets can be read directly into the system, which significantly simplifies the transition process to HerdTrack.
During installation, farmers can download an Excel template, fill in their animals’ existing information, and then simply upload it to the HerdTrack system. Previously, records had to be entered animal by animal, but now the entire herd’s data can be uploaded simultaneously. The system still uses mandatory fields to ensure that the data uploaded is complete and accurate. Records can also be downloaded again in Excel or CSV format for administrative purposes.
Improvement: scanners that know the herd
Scanners can now be set to recognise a specific herd’s ear tags. Although one scanner will pick up all HerdTrack tags, the software will now indicate when an animal does not belong to a specific herd.
This is a major advantage when working with cattle. You can have all your animals at the handling race at the same time with only one scanner; the system will make the distinction itself and store the data points with the correct herds. Furthermore, you can now choose whether the scanner should actively pick up certain ear tags or not, by simply turning it on or off according to your needs.
Improvement: retiring an animal’s data
When an animal is sold or slaughtered, that animal’s information can now be archived. The data is retained forever for traceability, but it is hidden so that it does not clutter your current, active herd’s data.
Improvements: what to look forward to
If you invest in HerdTrack today, you are buying into a system that is continuously improved. In the future, we are aiming for a complete “plug and play” experience to make record-keeping even easier. Work is also being done on expanding medication records. This will enable farmers to distinguish between general treatment (such as when a whole herd is dipped on a specific date) versus specified medication (such as antibiotics) that was administered only to an individual animal.
HerdTrack develops alongside the farmer, because resilient farming operations need a system that does not stand still.
visit: www.herdtrack.co.za or contact us at 018 523 0555.
~ Compiled by René van der Vyver